Taunton man convicted of murder in Brockton drive-by shooting

A 28-year-old Taunton man was convicted of murder in relation to a drive-by shooting in Brockton that took place in April 2013.

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

BROCKTON - Following an eight-day trial, a jury deliberated for just eight hours before finding a 28-year-old Taunton man guilty of murder for pulling the trigger in a fatal drive-by shooting that took place in Brockton in 2013.

Carlens Alain Louis was convicted on Monday at Brockton Superior Court in connection to the April 22, 2013, drive-by shooting, on charges of first degree murder by deliberate premeditation, along with armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.

The shooting took the life of Vardley St. Felix, who was quickly pronounced dead, after he suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and back. St. Felix, of Brockton, was 23 years old.

Another man identified as Stanley Damestoire, now 33 years old, survived the drive-by shooting after he was treated for a gunshot wound to the hip.

Louis is now scheduled to be sentenced on the first degree murder charge, and other counts, on Dec. 20.

Prosecutors said that Louis was driving a Jeep Cherokee when he and others pulled up to a car parked near his home on Coburn Street on that April 2013 afternoon. That's when the now-convicted killer rolled down the window and opened fire, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz's Office.

"The operator of the Cherokee, identified as Louis, put down his window and pointed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun out of his window and fired three shots into the victims' vehicle, striking St. Felix and Damestoire," said the DA's office, in a statement released on Monday about the murder conviction. "Louis then drove away."

Damestoire, who was operating the victims' vehicle, drove the victims to AMR Ambulance building at N. Main and East Ashland streets in Brockton, where emergency medical technicians immediately began treated them for their wounds, prosecutors said.

Later in the evening after the murder, police picked up information that led to the whereabouts of Louis and a co-defendant, Derrick Dennis. Prosecutors said that the two were found at a Motel 6 in Seekonk, where the murder weapon and ammunition were found hidden in the toilet tank.

Dennis is now slated to be tried at an undetermined future date for his alleged role in the homicide.